1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to carpentry tools, and more particularly to a saw guide for assuring a straight cut with a hand held power saw.
2. Description of Related Art
The following art defines the present state of this field:
Stone, U.S. Pat. No. 5,206,999, discloses a combination saw guide and surface protector which can conveniently be used with a hand operated, power circular saw. The apparatus includes a surface protector which prevents the soleplate of the saw from engaging and possibly damaging the surface of the workpiece. The apparatus includes two or more sections that can be quickly and easily connected together to enable precision cuts to be made even on very large sheets of paneling.
Miraglia, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,425, discloses a one-piece elongated rectangular metal fence plate adjustably attachable to a cutable guide base of plywood or plastic. One longitudinal edge of the fence plate is formed into a guide fence for hand held power circular saws or saber saws. For the initial setup, the fence plate must be bolted to the guide base. The guide base is then cut to size using a power hand saw with the guide fence of the attached fence plate serving as the saw guide to assure parallel alignment of the guide fence relative to the cut edge of the guide base. Tilton, U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,748, discloses a an adjustable saw guide for hand held power saws. The guide is adjustable by an adjustment and locking of an elongate saw guide member in the proper position on the surface of a saw table slide member that serves as a base of the apparatus.
Matuszak, U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,118, discloses an alignment device for guiding a hand manipulated power tool on the surface of a planar workpiece. The device includes an elongate guide member having a guide surface for guiding the show of the power tool and elongate gauge member having alignment edge adapted to be aligned on and with a desired line of cut on the surface of the workpiece. The elongate gauge member is releasably fixed to the guide member. The guide surface is parallel spaced to the alignment edge a predetermined distance equal to the distance from the shoe of the power tool to the path of travel of the cutting member of the power tool. The device also includes clamps for holding the alignment device to the workpiece and mating coupling members at each end of the device so that two or more devices can be coupled together to provide a composite longer alignment device.
Beerens, U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,278, discloses a hand saw guide having a member having two right angled related surfaces so that where one surface is in face to face contact with a component to be sawn to the other surface is perpendicular to the component. The other surface having incorporated therein a magnet that creates a magnetic field to hold the blade of a saw against said other surface. The saw can thus be operated to cut the component while held in guided relationship with the other surface.
Bliss, U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,098, discloses a guide to be clamped on a door or similar object to guide a portable circular saw to insure accurate cuts. The guide has an elongated, rigid member having a block pivotally attached at one end. The object to be cut with the saw is clamped between that block and a second pivoting block slidable secured to the member. An eccentric device including a cam cooperates with a lost motion coupling for the second block to permit rapid initial installation of the guide followed by an increase in the clamping force to secure the guide in place. An elongated rib on the guide served to stabilize the saw as the cut is made and the saw base slides along a planar portion of the guide member protecting the object from damage during the sawing operation.
Young, U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,434, discloses a quick and accurate gauging means for locating and clamping a guide onto the top surface and leading edge of a workpiece, with respect to the line of cut desired. During execution of the cut, the gauging member of the guide is automatically returned to its storage position and cocked for the next cut.
The prior art teaches various saw guides that can be adjusted to cut precisely along the saw guide lower cut indicating edge. However, the prior art saw guides all require several time consuming steps to provide such customization. Since every hand operated power saw is somewhat different, having to repeatedly change the saw guide to match different power saws can waste a great deal of time. The prior art does not teach a saw guide that provides such accuracy, customized to the specific hand operated power saw, without time consuming adjustment.
The present invention provides a saw guide that is lightweight, inexpensive, and easy to use. The present invention lacks the number of parts and assembly required by the prior art, providing a simple, integral construction. In its preferred embodiment, the saw guide is designed to custom fit two different power saws without further alteration or customization. The present invention fulfills the long-felt need of the industry for a simpler saw guide and provides further related advantages as described in the following summary.